


Will of the Phoenix

by Sun_Arcana



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Sexual Assault, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Persona 5 Spoilers, Shiho as protagonist AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:34:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21794617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sun_Arcana/pseuds/Sun_Arcana
Summary: Shiho Suzui. Amazing grades, volleyball star, and an overachiever. To the surprise of many in her town she was recently charged with assault toward an adult man. She would be put on one year probation and sent to Shibuya by her parents. Shiho wants to have this year past quietly to get her life together, but some things just don't go as planned.
Relationships: Sakamoto Ryuji/Suzui Shiho, Suzui Shiho & Takamaki Ann
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	1. Prologue: Let The Game Begin

Click… Click… Click....

A young woman in her late twenties walks down the hallway with urgency and a level of poise that tells everyone within the hall to not stop her. Her heels click on the metal floor and her long silver hair is flowing by as she walks. 

“Excuse me, this area’s off-”

She brushes him off like any fly on her shoulder. “I’m Nijima from the Public Prosecutor's Office.”

The man in a black suit sneers at her dismissal. “The Prosecutor’s Office? What business do you have here?”

“Just let me through; it’s urgent. There’s something I need to confirm with the suspect.”

“Nijima-san, I believe this case is no longer in your jurisdiction. Besides...”

The man is interrupted by an older detective. “Are you Prosecutor Sae Nijima? There’s a call from your director.”

He glares at her. “And hurry and get it over with. To be frank, your being an inconvenience.”

On cue Sae’s phone rings with the contact, SIU Director’s name on screen. The first thing she hears is a sigh of annoyance.

“I thought I ordered you to stand by.”

Sae scowls, trying to hold her anger but not with much success. 

“I’m responsible for this case, yet I’m not being allowed an interrogation?!” 

“I’m calling because I knew you would bring it up.”

“I will not be convinced unless I confirm it for myself. This is MY case.” He can feel her unyielding resolution. He sighs again knowing there’s no way to stop her now.

“Good luck to you then. I won’t be expecting much though…”

When she walks toward the door the older detective calls out to her.

“Ah, Prosecutor. I forgot to mention something important.”

She stops to turn around, awaiting the catch. There’s always a catch. 

“You’re time will be cut short. We can’t permit you to talk with her for long.”

Sae sighs. There it is.

“For your own sake.”

_Yeah. Right._

“Her methods are unknown. After all we don’t even know if it’s safe to simply meet and speak with her.”

_Well… this is better than nothing._

“...I understand.”

She walks toward the door and the guards move aside to open the door for her entry. 

When she enters the room, the door is shut, now leaving just silence. At the end of the room she sees a familiar teenage girl, but she looks a lot different from when she last saw her. Her usual ponytail is nowhere to be seen and her hair is now in sweat and tangles. Her face, arms, and legs are all marked with bruises and all that’s left on her is her blank stare as she notices Sae.

_Bastards._

She approaches the table the girl sits at, grimacing at how horrible her condition is up close. 

“I didn’t expect it to be you…”

The girl just continues her blank stare. Sae quickly composes herself as she continues. 

“You’ll be answering my questions this time.”

Her eyes catch a freshly used injection on the floor in the corner of her eyes. 

She grits her teeth in anger at the implications of what else took place here. She refocuses on the girl and pulls her own face closer to give her hopefully, a clearer view of who’s in front of her. 

“Can you hear me? It seems you have been through a lot.” She eyes show a flash of empathy for a second. “Almost anything can happen here... and I can’t stop them.”

Sae sees the girl nod and she backs away to give her space. 

“I need you to answer me honestly. I don’t have much time either.”

The girl nods again.

“What was your objective? Why did you cause such a major incident? I didn’t think it was a prank from the get-go, but I couldn’t assemble a case for prosecution. It’s because I couldn’t figure out the method.”

“Of course you couldn’t…” Sae notices she’s having trouble formulating longer sentences. She hopes the drugs wear off soon enough to have her give more details. 

“True. There’s no way I can be convinced of such a… “world” just by reading the reports.”

Sae notices the girl is starting to be more focused on what she’s saying.

“Alright. Tell me your account on everything. Start from the beginning.”

~~~

Saturday, April 9th Afternoon

Shiho Suzui feels dead inside. 

No, dead inside is an understatement. 

Dark circles under her eyes, she sighs in exhaustion while she looks at her surroundings.

In the busy streets of Shibuya, Shiho squints to look at any of the street signs to find her destination. Her efforts are futile when she doesn’t recognize any as the place she’s supposed to go to. Packing, the long train ride, and her parents made the past week exhausting. 

She grumbles to herself and grabs her phone to check the GPS again. Her face scrunches in confusion when she sees a weird app she’s never downloaded. It’s red and black and has a creepy eye on it, like it was watching her. She looks up and it feels like time stopped around her. Everyone in the crowded streets becomes still and when she turns to the side she sees a gigantic blue fire. As she looks at it, it shapes into a woman. Her mind suddenly flashes to herself with yellow eyes and a smug smile. 

When she flashes back she notices a few people give her odd looks as they pass by. She quickly takes out her phone to alleviate some of the awkward embarrassment for spacing out. While doing so, she sees the strange app again. She shrugs it off and deletes it. She then remembers she doesn’t have time for this. She shakes her head, thinking she was probably just tired. 

-

_Yongen-Jaya…_

It’s a quaint little neighborhood, but a bit too crowded for Shiho’s liking. She sees children playing, an old woman’s shop, cafe, small supermarket, medical clinic, and other small houses. She smiles slightly at the simplicity of the neighborhood. It was different from the modern houses from where she used to live. 

She eventually finds the house when it has the nameplate, Sakura plastered on the gate. She rings the doorbell and waits for a minute or two. She tries again and nothing. The brown haired girl looks up to check for any sign of anyone in the house and sees a window with a bit of light coming through it. She tries again in hopes to get that person’s attention, but nothing again. 

“If you’re looking for Sakura-san he’s working at the cafe right now.”

Shiho turns to see a delivery man point down the street she just came from. If she remembers correctly it was… Leblanc or something? She quickly nods and readjusts the bag on her shoulder as she heads off. 

When she finally arrives, the door opens with a chime of a bell and she sees a charming little place with an old couple and a middle aged man reading a newspaper as the news plays on the TV hanging on the wall. Shiho turns her attention to the newscast about a recent train accident. She can’t help but frown and stare as a middle aged man and the old couple converse. She’s whisked out of her trance when a bell rings. She looks behind her and sees the old couple leave. The man’s attention goes to her. 

“So, you’re Suzui?”

Shiho nods with a bit of reluctance. Her soft voice comes out in a mumble.

“...Are you Sakura-san?”

“...Yeah.”

There was a silence. When he got no response he continues.

“I’m Sojiro Sakura. You’ll be in my custody over the next year.” 

He looks at her up and down quickly, like he was expecting something. 

“I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you’re the one, huh?”

“I guess I’m not what you expected.” There was a slight edge in her voice. She would much rather just unpack her things and take a nap than deal with more people judging her. 

“You’re a lot more normal than I expected, but I guess that’s a good thing for me, huh?”

Again. A moment of silence.

“...If you don’t mind me asking, how do you know my parents?”

He chuckles. “Polite, too? Aren’t you defying my expectations?”

_Yeah. Cause I would like to avoid getting into any more trouble._

“Well you’re parents and a customer I have known each other- Well not that it matters much now… Follow me.” 

_Did they seriously leave me with a stranger!?_ She shivers as Sojiro leads her up the stairs. _Please don’t let anything like that happen again…_

When she arrives she keeps a careful distance from Sojiro. She tries to hold in a frown when she sees an attic with trash bags, dust all over, and other miscellaneous boxes. He looks at her for any reaction but nothing. 

“You can clean this up with some dusting and mopping. Maybe put up some posters or whatever people your age do. I’ll even give you sheets for your bed.”

He gestures toward the bed, where the sheets are folded up. When he notices her backing up slightly when he tries to pat her shoulder he sighs.

“Look, I’ll be straight with you. I know the details behind your case.”

Shiho shakes. She would much rather not think about it, but Sojiro continues anyway.

“A man tried to assault you. You injured him in self-defense, but he uses his power to shift the blame to you. He sued you, you then got kicked out of your high school, and your parents want nothing to do with you so they sent you here.”

Shiho stares at the floor, refusing to look at him in the eyes.

“Look, I’m sorry that happened to you.” Shiho’s brown eyes soften at the first sign of sympathy she’s gotten since she got here, but quickly harden again as he continues.

“Maybe you should be careful what you wear in the future, for your safety.”

_Is he implying what happened is her fault?_

She tries to hold her tongue. _I need to be good. Can’t risk it._

“...Yes, Sakura-san.”

All that’s left is tension. Sojiro eyes show concern, but decides moving to a different topic is for the best. 

“I’ll be leaving after I lock up each day. You’ll be alone each night and try to not cause any trouble.” 

He descends down the stairs to continue running the cafe. Her posture loosens at his departure and she then looks around to see where to start. _Looks like I’m not getting that nap._

After an afternoon of dusting, mopping, unpacking, and organizing, Shiho feels slightly proud of her efforts despite her exhaustion. She gathered some of the books she found useful like cooking books and some other novels she could use to pass the time and puts them on the bookshelf. She put the others in neat piles in front of it. She also made her bed and used the box sent by her parents with her necessities as a place to store her clothes. She was struggling to push the box in a large storage shelves due to the box’s size. It was to the point she didn’t notice Sojiro coming up the stairs. His face forms an amused smile as he watches her struggle for a few moments. 

“Do you need any help with that?”

The amused tone in his voice causes her to flush in embarrassment, feeling ashamed that she’s having trouble to just put a box in the self. 

“N-no… I’m fine.” 

As she struggles a bit more, Sojiro sighs and gives one last push to put the box in place. Shiho coughs a bit as she uses her hands to brush off the dust off her clothes when she stands up. 

“You- *cough* didn’t need to that Sakura-san.” 

Sojiro raises and eyebrow. “You know there’s no shame in asking for help, right?”.

“Even so *cough* I could have handled it.*cough*” 

Sojiro just shakes his head. “Whatever you say, kid.” 

He gazes around the room and nods at the vast change. 

“The place doesn’t look too bad.” 

He brushes off some leftover dust on his own clothes. 

“I put some dinner for you on the table downstairs. I’m going to lock the shop, but I’m going to leave that to you from now on.”

He digs into his pockets and tosses a ring with keys. She fumbles slightly when they come to her but was able to clutch it close to her chest. 

“Be sure to also turn the sign to closed each day as well. Have a good night, Suzui.” There’s a small smile on his face as he heads down the stairs. 

When Shiho hears the door shut she quietly heads down the stairs. She carefully peers into the cafe to check if he’s still there by some chance. She calms down when she sees no one. 

_Finally alone._

Her nose catches the scent of… curry and… coffee? _What a weird combination._ She follows the scent to the counter and sits on one of the stools. _Well, beggars can’t be choosers._

Shiho grabs a spoon and fork and carefully takes a spoonful of rice and curry. Her eyes bulge in surprise but her face quickly contorts into a look of contentment. While spicy foods aren’t her first pick, the way Sojiro made curry brought out a punch that she prefers over anything lacking flavor. There was something about it that differentiates itself from other curry, but couldn’t put her finger on it. She then sets her utensils down to wash down some of the spice. Her first sip of the coffee surprised her even more. _How did he know I like my coffee black?_

When she finishes her curry and coffee Shiho decides it’s time to go to sleep after an exhausting day. She goes up the stairs and walks to the clothes she set down on her bed. She changes into simple light blue pajamas and fixes her high ponytail to a side ponytail to avoid it bothering her in her sleep. 

She takes a look at the room to soak it all in. She still needs to clean the table to have room to study and clear out any other miscellaneous objects to check if Sojiro needs any of it. _Starting today, this is my room…_

Shiho shoves the blanket to the side and sighs once more as she plops herself on the bed finally. When things are finally starting to calm down, her mind can’t help but wander. 

_Trial… Arrest… Criminal record…_

Her mind flashes to that night. 

**_A man hovering over her with a flushed face._ **

**_“Come on, let's have some fun.”_ **

**_Flashing again to the same man with a bleeding forehead staring at her with anger._ **

**_“Damn brat! I’ll sue!”_ **

She shakes, trying to suppress horrible those memories.

_It doesn’t matter now, the court has made their decision. It’s best to just move on and live a quiet high school life._

Shiho’s body jolts suddenly when there’s ringing coming from her pocket. She goes into her pocket to get her phone. On the screen it shows the same strange app from earlier glowing. She bites her lip, feeling a bit creeped out. _I thought I already deleted it._

She quickly deletes the app. Her discomfort evaporates slowly when her eyelids start to get heavy. She lets her tiredness drift her off to slumber, hoping her dreams will be better than the reality she was in now. 

~~~

Cold. 

Big brown eyes snap open and see velvet blue surrounding her in a small space. 

She was currently in a metal chair with a matching table in front of her with the same chair on the other side. The only source of light is one lamp hanging from the ceiling. It looks like an interrogation room she was in when they grilling her about her case. 

While moving her body in the chair she immediately notices the sound of chains. Her hands are handcuffed, leading to a ball and chain. Starting to panic, Shiho tries to find any way to unlock the chains. As she continues to look through the handcuffs the door opens and who comes in surprises her. 

A little girl who looks about eleven or so walks over to her and elegantly sits in the chair across from her. She sets down a large book she’s holding and gives her a gentle smile. 

“Welcome to the Velvet Room. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. My name is Lavanza.”

Her voice is soft and poised. Her clothing is as blue as the room itself but what stood out the most to Shiho was her yellow eyes. Admittedly, they creeped her out, like she was like a child in a horror film. The unsettling dark room didn’t help the situation either.

Quickly noticing her fear, she decides to continue. 

“Do not be afraid as you are asleep and dreaming. This place exists within consciousness and subconsciousness.” 

Shiho nods along. Not really sure how to react to this bizarre experience. The little girl seems rather harmless so far. Calm, collected, and serious for her age. 

“Those who are bound by a contract may enter, though… you are a special case, Master.” 

_Master?_ There’s the jingle of the chains as Shiho moves her body forward toward Lavenza. She might as well play along if this is truly a dream… 

“Okay… What exactly makes me so “special”? _Especially since a little girl is calling me master of all things._

She takes a moment to consider how to go about this. 

“You see… This isn’t usually the way we do things here. The situation is rather dire if I shall be frank.” She frowns but quickly covers it up with a forced smile. 

“I hope to help you adjust before I get into the intricacies of it all.” 

Lavenza looks at her expectantly. Shiho can’t help but notice how slightly frazzled she is, like she’s trying to keep it together. While this is a dream, she can’t help but feel empathy. Her calm demeanor say one thing, but her eyes show fear of her own, even if she herself personally find them unsettling. 

She nods again to have her continue. 

“You have moved to a new place and now your life is now in motion for the events that will come. There’s a danger but I was sent to protect you by the master of this Velvet Room.”

“If you want to protect me, then why am I in chains?” She frowns at Lavanza while showing her wrists. 

The girl looks at her sadly. “This state of this room reflects the state of your heart.”

Shiho looks around the interrogation room and remembers how she first reacted. Scared, judged, reminding her of the last time she was here. The chains trapped her… no other place to go by her free will. It does make sense after all that’s happened. 

“I see…”

“Fate… has brought you here with me today. Ruin is going to come for you and I am here to act as your guide throughout your journey toward freedom from your chains to avoid such a tragic path.”

Freedom is something she has never felt her whole life. _Maybe this dream is just some sort of sign of my current situation?_

“Can I... truly gain freedom?” Her voice is hesitant, but hopeful. It’s silly to hope from a dream but she has always hoped for better in her past dreams.

The yellow eyed girl smiles slightly. “You can if you have the resolve.”

Suddenly, the world around her is starting to fade. 

“Sadly, our time is waning, Master. Please take your time to understand what has transpired. We will meet again…”

The brunette disappears in twinkles of light before she can say a word. 

_The Game has begun…_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So the idea of Shiho being the protagonist of the game came to me after seeing fanart of her as a Phantom Thief. It gave me ideas of how they story and character relationships would change and because she's already an established character so I thought it would be fun to play with that. I personally really like Shiho and thought it was a shame she doesn't get much time in the story after the first arc. 
> 
> Also I know the story has just begun but would anyone be interested to I include P5 Royal plot and characters? I would have to wait until the English release to write it and I know Kasumi comes early (I believe April 12) so I won't be able to update when I get to that date in the game. I'm already adding some differences in the story because of the change in protagonists but it would fun to use Royal to add more to it.


	2. Chapter 1: Just An Ordinary First Day

Monday, April 11 Morning 

Shiho looks over herself one more time on the old, long mirror Sojiro gave her. Her uniform is proper, from the tie being exactly in place and her jacket and skirt having no alterations to distinguish herself. Her ponytail looks presentable enough for her with two bobby pins in place to keep the loose hair from sticking out. She stares longer at herself, trying to force a smile to see if that makes her look anymore presentable somehow. She grimaces, thinking forcing a smile isn’t a good look for her. She sighs for the umptieth time. 

Another day with Sojiro went… good if she went about it more positively. He hasn’t bothered her, keeping his distance when she looked uncomfortable which she appreciated. 

School registration could have gone better in her opinion. Her teacher looked like she would rather fall off a cliff than deal with her. The principle seems to only care as long as the school reputation flourishes. These people are who she’s supposed to depend on for the year...

She shakes her head. She shouldn’t really be that surprised in reality. Her teachers at her last school didn’t even bother to vouch for her in the case despite her “good student” reputation before the incident, preferring to get rid of her when she was suddenly inconvenient. Her grades, her involvement in the volleyball team, that's all they cared about. It really isn’t much different here it seems but she can try to control her life this time. 

_Just live an honest student life._

She grabs her bag on the table by the stairs as she goes down. Sojiro stops organizing various coffees and other supplies when he hears her come down.

“Hey! Did you think you can just leave on an empty stomach?” 

There’s the same curry and coffee from the last two days. _Is that all he can make?_ Not wanting to be ungrateful she nods and sits on the stool. 

“Um… thank you for cooking for me Sakura-san.”

She’s trying to be polite, but she is genuinely surprised that he actually cares so far. It just seemed like he was in it for the money and he didn’t even know her. 

“No problem, kid.” He grins. “You should hurry up before customers arrive. It’s crowded in the morning.”

She nods again and quickly finishes her meal. Gulping the coffee while ignoring the burning feeling. She gets up with her bag on her shoulder and bows. 

“Thank you again. I hope you have a nice day.” She tries to give a smile but was rather tight. It was probably the most she has smiled since moving. 

“You too, kid.” As she leaves Sojiro’s voice pulled her back. “By the way, can you turn over the open sign?” 

“Sure.”

She does what she’s asked and looks at it thoughtfully for a second. She mentally reminds herself to do this every morning. The brunette runs off to hopefully avoid any human traffic on her way to the trains. 

The directions Sojiro gave her yesterday prove to be helpful, being able to find the train station easily. The train itself isn’t the most comfortable place to be in. There were rumors of Tokyo’s crowded trains but she never thought it could be this bad. She’s being forcefully pushed on the door by two other high schoolers from the lack of space and the crowd makes it warmer inside. _I’m going to suffer in the summer, aren’t I?_

Shiho looks up and sees an LCD screen showing the news. She finds it rather concerning that there’s another train accident yesterday, but the news today explains the lingering effects of the incident. She quickly moves on by the announcement of the train’s arrival in Shibuya.

While walking through the underground walkway, there’s a crowd of people complaining to an officer for the delays from the accident. She walks around them and heads to the city square. Same crowds of people, there's also a news anchor and cameraman filming the area of the accident. She then continues her path to the Ginza Line Gate for the next train. Taking the train is very confusing for Shiho, so she ends up mostly relying on her phone throughout the trip. 

When she arrives at Aoyama-Itchome, she is relieved she’s almost there when looking at the map. When she exits the station, she frowns at the rain and quickly finds some sort of cover by the buildings. Shiho checks the time and considers her options. She could wait for the rain to lighten up and potentially end up being late, or run through the rain and risk ruining her uniform when the school only gave her one due to her last minute acceptance.

She opens her phone to check her map for any shortcuts. Her eyes widened at the same creepy app that appeared the other day. Before she can get any more confused she notices a girl in a similar uniform to her stand underneath the same roof. 

When she removes her hood, the brunette can’t help but be shocked by this girl. She looks radiant with her clear skin and structured face. Her silky blonde hair in pigtails and clear blue eyes really make her stand out, but her overall beauty does in general. _She’s the complete opposite from me._ Her mother often told her how plain she was many times and seeing how unique the other girl is, the brunette can't help but think she was right all along. Her gaping catches said girl’s attention. Shiho immediately stops herself, flushing with embarrassment. The blonde girl simply gives her a friendly smile before turning away to look toward the street. She quickly does the same but as time passed she can’t help but feel guilty after gawking at her. _She’s just like any other person, no need to make a big deal because of her appearance._

As they both wait for the rain to pass a car pulls over. The window pulls down and reveals an adult man in his late twenties. He gives a smile toward the blonde girl.

“Good morning. Want me to give you a ride to school? You’re going to be late.” 

“Um, sure. Thank you.” The girl looks rather hesitant but goes in anyways. The man then gives Shiho a once over and gives the same unsettling smile. 

“Does your friend here need a ride?”

The brunette in question is startled by this offer from a man she doesn’t know. Shiho recognizes him vaguely. She remembers seeing him talking to Ms. Kawakami while she was leaving the school with Sojiro on Sunday. _Why is someone from the school offering students rides? Seems rather unprofessional..._

“Um…” She’s quickly cut off. 

“She’s not my friend. Let’s just go.” 

While Shiho barely interacted with her, the blunt comment stung after it seemed like she was friendly toward her. The man raises his eyebrow but just shrugs. He looks over at Shiho with another wide grin. 

“I’m a teacher at Shujin Academy. I’ll be seeing you around.”

He pulls up the girl’s window and Shiho catches her sad expression disappear behind the rising window.

The man then drives off. 

_What just happened?_ The whole situation left her rather uncomfortable but she can’t imagine what the other girl is feeling. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a flash of yellow running past her. 

“Dammit… Screw that pervy teacher.”

“...Pervy teacher?” Now she’s really worried about that girl if what this guy is saying is true. Despite her mumbling the guy notices her and turns to her with an irritated look. Shiho stumbles back from the boy’s intense glare, not noticing her recent words being registered on the app left open from earlier. 

“...What do you want?” The boy has the same uniform as her and unlike the girl, his blonde hair is bleached. With his glare it gives him a tough, intimidating delinquent look. He reminds her of the type of guy that her parents would tell her to never associate with, but looks aren't everything. The guy’s glare lessens but still prevalent when he notices he startled her.

“You plannin’ on rattin’ me out to Kamoshida?”

“I’m sorry... but do you mean the guy in the car?” She hates that she’s mumbling so much. The blonde’s expression contorts into a confused look. 

“Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida.” His face scrunches up in even more irritation. “He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is- the king of some castle? Don’t you agree?”

Shiho tries to formulate some answer, but is rather nervous from this stranger’s sudden questioning. Also, she didn’t really know this teacher.

“He seemed rather… strange, giving that girl a ride.” Her curiosity then piqued her. “What do you mean by king of a castle exactly?” 

He scrunches his eyebrows. “...Wait. You don’t know Kamoshida? Are you for real?” 

_...He’s rather brash._

He frowns. “You are from Shujin, right?”

_Here come the transfer student conversations. I need to mentally prepare myself to make good impressions._

“Oh… I-I’m actually new!” Shiho tries to give the boy a smile as her best attempt of being friendly, though her nervousness is rather apparent by her shaking. She hastily places her phone in her jacket pocket and puts her hand out. “I’m Shiho Suzui. Second year.”

He shakes her hand with a strong grip. 

“A second-year, huh… We’re the same grade then.” He lets go of her hand. “No wonder you don’t know him.”

He looks up, the sky catching his attention. 

“This rain ain’t too bad. We better hurry up, or we’ll be late.” 

Shiho holds out her hand, palm up, feeling a light drizzle. “Yeah... I wouldn’t want to be late on my first day.”

As both students started walking, a sudden burst of pain erupted them both. Shiho wimpers, suddenly feeling light headed. 

The boy groans. “Uuugh, my head hurts… Dammit I wanna go home.”

Shiho winces, nodding with agreement, following her new companion in tow. 

~~~

Saturday, November 19 Time Unknown

Sae observes the brunette groan in pain, the drugs adding more to the bruises. The girl tries to alleviate her headache by rubbing her forehead with her hand, not with much success. 

The silver haired woman looks pensive, referring to her notes to check if the events lined up to what the girl has stated so far. 

“There was a terrible train accident that day. You remember it, don’t you?”

She nods, contorting in discomfort. 

“I assume you know of the uproar that the public calls, the psychotic breakdown incidents.”

The girl gives the prosecutor an irritated look. “...What does that even mean?”

She sighs. _Either she’s been living under a rock or the drugs are distorting her mind that much._

“It was all over the news, and one of the victims included a teacher at your high school.” Red eyes give her a serious look, as if she dares her to say no now. “I’ve no doubt you heard of it.”

The brunette goes through her foggy memories, barely remembering but nods in response. 

“On that day… were you still an “ordinary” student?”

Sae notices the girl’s face scrunching up and nervously biting her lip, but no answer comes. She decides to go for a different approach.

“Let me change the question. You transferred to Shujin academy, correct? An ordinary prep school that could be found in any city… that’s what it should have been.” 

She leans forward, directly looking in her eyes. 

“What happened? Tell me everything, truthfully.”

~~~

Monday, April 11 Morning

Shiho looks at her surroundings as she follows the boy, trying to memorize her path for tomorrow’s walk. Her phone vibrates in her pocket. _Eh… I’ll just check it later._ She continues to look around, feeling slightly awkward. Admittedly, she's also looking around to feel less anxious from her thoughts. If she made a good impression, if school will be alright, typical first day stuff. She then stops walking as he makes a turn.

“...Why are we going in an alleyway?” 

“It’s a shortcut, way faster trust me.” The boy’s tone is rather casual, no hint of any motives or being forceful. At least she thinks so. She quickly glances at her sides and sees there’s still a good amount of people around. She does need to hurry and she does remember their earlier conversation about Kamoshida. 

She gives a thoughtful hum. She’ll trust him. “Well, alright then, but I’ll blame you if we get mugged.” 

He waves his hand and grins.

“Nah, I’ve been using this path for a year. Besides they wouldn’t hangout by a school in the morning more like in stranded areas in the night.” 

_Well… That’s good to know…_

As they continue, the alley is rather dark and murky, but when they go further… she feels some sort of force as she passes through. Shiho looks back quickly and sees the path behind her is gleaming. Her thoughts are interrupted by a scream from the boy. She runs toward his voice and stops next to him with her mouth agape. 

In front of them is a literal castle. Tall, but reminding her of the castles she would see in movies as a kid. Typical stories of royalty with a princess or prince of some sort. Despite the regal appearance the aura is ominous with the strange purple sky. 

“...What the hell is this?” She planned on trying to be formal on her first day to make an impression, but this is too much for her. 

“We didn’t… come the wrong way though.” He looks behind and the girl follows suit. She gives him a doubtful look. 

“...You sure about that?” 

“Yeah! Look, I have no effin’ clue what’s goin’ on here. Let’s just go in and ask for directions.”

She sighs and follows the blonde’s already retreating form, assuming they can just go back the way they came if directions don’t work out. 

The interior inside confuses both of them even more. Expensive carpets and drapes decorate the massive entry room. Stairs so tall they lead to a high balcony and a tremendous chandelier looms over them with diamonds dangling from the ends of it. 

“Th-that’s weird… Where’s the school...?”

Shiho quickly checks her phone and the boy looks over her shoulder. On the left-hand corner saying “Out of Service”. She swipes to the left and goes into the settings. There are no other services around them. 

“Are you sure you don’t recognize where we are?”

“I’m sure, but it’s so weird. There was even a sign for the school at the front, right?” 

The brunette does remember a flimsy paper sign with the kanji for Shujin.

“Yeah… but this can’t be it. Unless you guys had a sudden idea for redecorating.”

“Come on! This is no time to joke!” 

“Sorry. It helps with the huge amount of stress I’m under right now.” She can already feel a headache forming. She is trying to be calm and rational but the situation is too bizarre to process. 

The students turn their heads at a sudden sound of clanking metal heading toward their direction. A gigantic knight in armor heads toward them with… a sword and shield. 

“Geez, you freaked me out… Who’re you? You a student?” Ryuji walks a little closer to observe his armor. “Man, your costume’s impressive… is that armor real?”

_Is he serious?!_ Shiho leans toward his ear and hisses quietly as she can, “The guy is in armor and twice our size! How can you think he’s a student?!”

He just shrugs and whispers back, “I dunno but maybe he can help us with directions.”

Then another knight exactly as the other comes in. Both start to surround the students. 

“H-hey, what’s goin’ on?”

Shiho tugs on his arm and whispers urgently. “This is the moment we run.”

Just as she says that the first knight comes forward, pointing a sword at them. All plans to run vanish as this knight basically tells the two that he dares them to run. The second knight does that same and Shiho can’t help but tighten her grip on the blonde’s arm. She’s starting to shake, anxiety coming back to her and reminding of the last time she was surrounded. 

“...This shit’s real.” As they both draw near, the boy tries to step back but when he notices Shiho’s shaking he holds onto her and helps her step back with him. 

“C-calm down! Time out, man!” He forces himself out of Shiho’s grip, shaking her shoulders, looking directly in her eyes. “Suzui! We gotta run!”

Her eyes widen in shock, realizing it's not just her in this situation. She knows she can’t be like this now. Shiho nods hesitantly, but determined. As they start to run, they’re immediately stopped by two more guards. 

“Ugh, what’s with these guys!?” The knight then shoves the boy hard with his shield. Shiho immediately knees toward him, holding him as he groans in pain as she checks for injuries. She glares at the guards. 

“What do you want with us?! We just got lost-” 

Her head is hit with immense pain, but in a flash, all she sees is black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after playing all four routes in Fire Emblem Three Houses, taking care of schoolwork, and the Cronavrius I'm back. As you can see I procrastinated for a while. This chapter is actually only half of the original chapter I wrote and I decided the other half should be the next chapter. To be honest I wasn't sure what I wrote is too long so I thought this was good since it's only the beginning. Social distancing gives me more time and motivation to write so I should have more time to focus on this while doing schoolwork. I hope you enjoyed it at least and I've decided it's better for me to ignore P5 Royal canon for this for simplicity sake but thank you to all the comments giving responses toward my question!


	3. Chapter 2: Broken Mask

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Trigger warning* : Small mentions of sexual assault in the chapter and at the ending notes

“...Hey.”

She hears a familiar voice.

“Hey! Wake up!”

Shiho groans. Slowly opening her eyes, she feels hardwood on her back instead of a bed. Her body shoots up, looking to her right and sees the boy from earlier looking concerned. She adjusts her body to sit on the ledge of the bench and rubs her temples to levitate her headache. _They must’ve hit me hard…_ When her mind clears up she immediately sees they are in a jail cell, a medieval looking one. 

“You alright?”

“Yeah…” She stretches her arms. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“It’s more like an aching headache, but I’ve been through worse…” He turns away from the brunette and takes a look around the cell. 

“Looks like it ain’t no dream…” After her latest dream with the little girl, Shiho thinks she shouldn’t be surprised by the odd occurrences in her life by this point. The boy kicks the ground, frustrated. “Ugh, what’s goin’ on?!” He runs to the bars and shakes them, making a lot of noise in the process.

“Hey, let us outta here! I know someone’s out there!” Shiho frowns at the racket he's making as she adjusts her ponytail. The blonde huffs as he walks back toward her. “Dammit, where are we?! Is this some sort of TV set…?”

They’re eyes widen with alarm as they hear screams in the distance. They both run to the bars, looking frantically around them to see where these screams came from. When they see nothing, they look at each other in fear.

“Th-the hell was that just now…”

The screams continue. 

“It sounds like.. medieval torture?” Shiho grimaces as the volume rises. 

“Woah… woah, woah, woah, woah… You’re shittin’ me, right...?”

More screams. 

“By the sounds of those screams, it’s very much real...”

“This is real bad…!” He turns himself and looks at the cell behind them. “Isn’t there some way outta here!? C’mon we gotta do something!”

Shiho gently touches his shoulder. “Calm down. Panicking will only make things worse in these types of situations. I’ll search the back of the cell, you can take the front. Take a deep breath.” 

The boy doesn’t look convinced but tries anyway. He inhales in and out with Shiho as she grips his shoulder until he relaxes. When they start looking, the blonde would not find much besides the chains hanging off the wall and some barrels with nothing inside. Shiho would look through the dirty beds and under but find nothing. They both pause their search when they hear familiar metal clanging coming toward them. 

“Suzui, you hear that?”

She walks toward him at the front of the cell and puts her pointer finger toward her lips. “Shhh…” 

Two knights with the same armor as the ones they saw before coming toward their cell. Instinctively, both teenagers back away from the bars.

“Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon.” He sneers. “Your charge is “unlawful entry”. Thus you will be sentenced to death.”

“What!?”

“Say what?!”

Suddenly a familiar voice rings in the air, but with a commanding tone to it. “No one’s allowed to do as they please in my castle.”

A familiar man comes toward them. Familiar square jaw, but he’s wearing a crown and cape but not much is under, to Shiho’s disgust. Her and the boy suddenly recall who this man is. 

“Wait… Is that you, Kamoshida?”

He turns to the boy with disdain. “I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it’d be you, Sakamoto...”

_Sakamoto… I never knew his name until now._

The pompous man smirks. “Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven’t learned your lesson at all, huh?”

Kamoshida then looks Shiho up and down, similarly to how he did earlier when he offered her a ride. He gives her a lecherous grin. “The guards didn’t tell me you brought a cute new friend with you?”

Shiho backs away further from the bars with an uncomfortable shiver going up her spine. She wraps herself protectively with her arms, shaking nervously, but unable to say anything. 

Sakamoto shakes the bars furiously. “Back off, asshole! This ain’t funny!” 

The man sneers as he gives his attention back to Sakamoto. “Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don’t understand the position you’re in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me, the king!”

He face forms into a vile smirk. “The punishment for that is death.” 

He gestures toward the guards. “It’s time for an execution! Take him out!”

The blonde’s face transforms into fear, losing his deficiency at the idea of death coming so soon to his doorstep. “S-stop it…!” The guards open the cell. “Sakamoto-san!” Just as she tries to call out to him, two guards take each of her arms, holding her back. She struggles in vain trying to get out of their grip. 

Sakamoto grits his teeth. “...Goddammit..!” The blonde rams into one of the guards. As he tries to ram one of the guards holding Shiho, he uses his shield to hit Sakamoto.

“Nnngh… Oww…” The boy clutches his lower abdomen. The pain being too much, he slowly sinks to the floor. Shiho struggles even harder in hopes to help him, but it’s to no avail. 

Kamoshida laughs. “Think you can be some white knight? Look at how pathetic you are!”

“Now for your execution!” The guards proceed to pick up Sakamoto by the arms and hold him up toward Kamoshida. 

“Lowly scum!” Kamoshida proceeds to punch the blonde repeatedly. Sakamoto howls became louder as each hit became harder than the other. “Useless pest!” 

The last punch being the most painful, sending him face first to the ground. The “king” spits in his face. 

“Hmph. Where’d your energy from earlier go?” One of the guards throws the boy. He only limps, exhausted. “A peasant like you isn’t worth beating.”

Sadistic pleasure runs through his voice. “I’ll have you killed right now.”

“Stop it!” Everyone in the room turns to the girl with a pleading expression on her face. “Let him go! Please!”

“Hm?” The man turns to her looking annoyed. 

“Don’t tell me you don’t know who I am.” He grabs her chin, chuckling as he sees her attempt to look away. 

“Aww… Don’t worry about it, sweetie. Once I’m done with this peasant, you and I will get to know each other for a looong time.”

Shiho pales at the implications, freezing in horror. _Not again… Please…_ Kamoshida then turns to the boy with a sadistic smile. 

“N-no… I don’t wanna die!” The man just laughs as he pleads. 

**“This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are close to none.”**

_It’s the girl from my dream._ Her voice continues to echo in Shiho’s head. 

**“But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you.”**

The little girl’s voice is then replaced by a woman’s. 

**“Are you just going to stand and let some disgusting man control you and your fate like the one before?”**

Shiho looks down, confused, and exhausted as the voice continues. 

**“You know the injustice that will happen if you don’t act now. Was it a mistake to stand up for yourself in the past?”**

Her mind flashes back.

**_As the man’s alcohol stained breath washes her face, he grabs her waist to force her against a wall. When he continues to ignore her objections as he touches her in various places, she shoves him with all her strength. Due to his drunken disposition, he easily falls face first into the sidewalk._ **

**_In another scene, the man yells at the police while he stops the bleeding on his forehead. The girl struggles and cries in confusion as she’s being forcefully handcuffed and led into a police car._ **

What happened afterwards was the start of her life spiralling. The court’s decision, her parents disgust at her, and now her low chance of a future due to a criminal record. But she knows what could have happened if she was just compliant. She looks up, gritting her teeth. 

“It wasn’t.”

Shiho’s face contorts to fear when she sees Sakamoto being held up by a guard, about to be pierced with a sword. She forces herself even harder to get out of their grasp. She couldn’t just let Sakamoto die like this. 

**The woman chuckles. “Your resolve is strong, child. I shall heed your call.”**

Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of agony takes over her body. She screams and scrambles in the guards’ grip to hold onto anything to relieve any of the mass amounts of pain. 

**“Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I… thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice.”**

The girl breathes as the pain momentarily stops but it comes back quickly as it came. 

**“Call upon my name, and release thy rage! Show thy strength that frees you of the chains of injustice that is put upon you!”**

“Execute him!”

“That’s enough, bastard!” The sword stops and Kamoshida turns toward the girl, his eyes enraged.

“What was that…?” The guard lets go of Sakamoto’s throat, but the boy sinks into the ground coughing while gathering his breath. 

“You’re becoming too much of a pest, interrupting over and over again. I guess you desire to be killed that much!” The guards let go of her but the girl is immediately beat in the head. They would then use their lances to hold her body by the neck against the wall. The blonde struggles to get up, wanting to help but the pain wins over. Shiho lays her head low, refusing to look at her incoming death of the sword’s swift swipe.

Suddenly, her eyes widen as gusts of wind surround her, startling the guards and Kamoshida. When the wind stops they now see the brunette with a golden mask with angel wings leading off to the sides of her ears. Feeling a sudden weight on her face, she instinctively tries to remove the mask, but struggles due the mask physically being attached to her face. Once removed with enough force, blood splatters everywhere as she screams in burning agony. Underneath it shows her now yellow eyes and despite the pain, she never felt more alive. Blue flames surround her entire body as she smirks, replacing the once reserved girl with a young woman with golden armor fitting her entire body and a flowing silver cape along with her now loose hair.

Above her is a monster. A woman with a horrifying snake tail as the lower portion of her body, scales going up to her chest. Black scales covering her voluptuous body and while her face is beautiful, her hair is a hoard of snakes hissing at the guards. The snake-like woman smirks and spreads her dark wings and lets out a gust of wind that pushes the knights against the wall.

The once arrogant “king” kneels back against the wall in fear and runs away from the gold armored girl. Sakamoto gapes in amazement and fear simultaneously at this girl he doesn’t recognize. The woman's alluring voice booms all around.

**“I am a woman of your death, but also to your rebirth. I am Medusa!”**

The blonde continues to gape. “What the…?”

**“I’m an injustice soul similar to yours. If you so desire, I shall help you by giving the power to destroy all who damned you and help avenge all to your likeness.”**

Shiho looks over to this woman, feeling a sort of kin to her.

She smiles widely nodding. “Give me your power.”

The woman grins wickedly. 

**“Very well, child.”**

Cowering by the cell’s entry Kamoshida sputters. “Who the hell are you…!?” Now irate he signals toward the guards. “Kill that one at once!”

The guards transform into two demonic looking pumpkins in witches' clothing and lanterns. “You’ll learn the true strength of my men!”

Instantly the girl is thrown into battle, now aware of the silver spear in her right hand. 

**“Now demolish the enemies before you and unleash your newfound power!”**

Immense magic surges through Shiho. She calls fourth Medusa with a flick removal of her golden mask. “Eiha!”

With a swift movement of a spear similar to Shiho’s, the woman laughs as she summons dark magic beneath one of the creatures, damaging it. The two enemies retaliate by hitting the girl with their lanterns, but it doesn’t do much damage. 

**“Swing your spear!”**

Despite no formal training, this new form makes wielding a weapon feel at ease. Her arm swings to pierce one the enemies, effectively killing it. 

**“This power of mine is yours to wield as you please. Use it to your heart’s desire!”**

The last enemy swings it’s lantern toward Shiho, but she immediately dodges the incoming attack. 

“Medusa!” She damages the creature with the same dark attack but is able to get in one quick attack with her spear, finishing it once and for all. Once done with the battle, Shiho quickly checks over to Sakamoto, concerned for his condition.

He stares blankly at her, wide eyed, forgetting at the aching he feels in his body. “What…”

The girl wonders why he’s giving her such a shocked expression but when she looks down, she gives out a high-pitched squeak. She flushes at her change in clothing Admittedly she thought it looked amazing but she shakes her head, knowing it is not the time to idle. 

“What was that just now…?”

The brunette sheepishly laughs, really not sure how to describe what has just transpired or even if it truly happened. They’re interrupted by a growl. 

“You little…!” Shiho glares, preparing to summon Medusa again, but suddenly Sakamoto rams Kamoshida to the ground, much to her surprise.

“You like that, you son of a bitch!?” 

“Sakamoto-san! The keys!” The blonde looked around quickly and snatches up the keys by his feet. Shiho dashes out of the cell with Sakamoto close behind, once out he hastily locks the cell rather clumsily.

“Okay, it’s locked!” 

Kamoshida spouts out curses as he shakes the cell’s bars. 

“Hey...!” The boy whips to the girl with a puzzled look, remembering Shiho’s power and how she took out the guards. “What was that just now!?” He looks over her armor, mask, spear, and overall transformation. “And.. your clothes…!”

“Look, I don’t think we should-” Her words are interrupted by blues flames rushing through her body, replacing her new clothes back to her school uniform and her signature ponytail. The loud clang of the cell alarm both teens and the man’s furious look reminds the blonde of their situation. 

“Goddamn thieves! You think you can get away with doing this to me!? 

As they run, Sakamoto tosses the key into a nearby river and follows behind the ponytailed girl. Adrenaline running through their veins, they hear Kamoshida’s booming voice in the distance. 

“Guards! After them!”

When a metal door blocks their way, Shiho tries to open it, but to no avail. “Crap! It isn’t opening!” Anxiety rushing into her cracking voice, she violently shoves her body through the door to make any sort of budge. 

“Damnit! Let’s just try and find another way through!” 

Shiho’s eyes catch the sight of a broken bridge and quickly grabs Sakamoto’s arm and points. “It doesn't look that steep of a jump.” He nods quickly and leaps after her. 

They traverse through the dark and damp dungeon, blindly going towards any open area in hopes that luck will lead them toward an exit. They jump on metal crates, rocks, and over even more bridges to cross rivers. It was like a never ending maze to Shiho, and one that they could die in if a miracle doesn’t happen soon. When panic was about to rise within Shiho at the sight of another dead end, Sakamoto’s voice got her attention. 

“There’s a hole in the wall over there!” At her right Sakamoto leads her to an open cell. They quickly crawl through the narrow path leading to another similar cell. Both continue their running, crossing over a drawbridge, which gave her hope that this slightly different scenery meant something. 

“What the hell is this place?!” She turned her head toward Sakamoto’s ragged voice, noticing him starting to lag behind slightly. She herself is running out of breath, but refuses to let either of them die in a place like this. “Come on! I’m sure we’re almost there!” 

Despite her words giving him determination, his speed doesn’t improve much. She turns her head to check again and notices how he’s limping a bit. Her brows furrow with worry. “Sakamoto-san, is your leg broken?” 

He tenses, forcing himself to catch up to her with a pained look on his face. “Nah, I’m fine.” The boy suddenly stops his tracks. “What’s wron-“ Shiho yelps as he grabs her arm while dragging her behind stacks of crates. 

“Over there.” He motions his head across the river. “They’re the lookin’ for us right?”

Shiho quickly recognizes the guards as they dash along across the other side. The blonde next to her scowls. “I ain’t playin along with this anymore! We gotta find a way outta this goddamn place!” 

She quickly shushes him as quietly as she could. “We need to be quiet or they’ll hear us.” She peeks over the crates, seeing the guards turned around looking in a cell. Sakamoto yelps as Shiho grabs his arm again. “They’re distracted. Let’s go up the stairs over there.” 

The endless flight of stairs seemed like an endless loop. Both teens run on adrenaline with death looming behind them if they fail to escape. As soon as they reach the top, Sakamoto rams himself through the door in a rush. Their fear rises even more when all that’s in front of them is a long path. 

“This ain’t the exit!? What the hell is this place?!” She quickly shushes him again and starts moving forward. Sakamoto only sighs with frustration as he follows her to more of the unknown. They both stop at the sight of a boy their age trapped in a hanging prison cell. The boy is screaming, only despair left as he bangs on the cell as it swings over the water. _This is getting more disturbing the more we walk through here._

“H-he and other prisoners must have been the ones screaming…” The girl’s voice trembles at the sight. As much as she wants to help the boy, it’ll take too long to find a way due to the cell’s position over the raging river. They’ll only get caught if they stay too long. She thinks to herself that maybe they can help the others once they escape. 

The next thing they see is a drawbridge raised up, which causes more angry spews out of Sakamoto. Shiho found the statue next to it creepy and Sakamoto voiced the same opinion out loud and with more venom. It was in the shape of Kamoshda’s head, like it was a reminder he’s still out there looking for them. Her nerves are still high, students are being imprisoned, an insane man is after their heads. She's starting to shake again. _In and out. In and out._

“H-hey are you okay?” The boy knew it was probably not the smartest thing to ask right now after everything in the past hour, but he didn’t know what else to offer besides concern. He wasn’t sure if he was okay himself at this point. Shiho turns to her companion, her face much calmer after her last breath.

“Let’s go find anything that can take down the bridge.” 

As she says that, their ears catch a rather… adorable voice. 

“...Hey you there.”

The two look around quickly, but to their confusion see nothing. 

“Blondie! Ponytail! Look over here!” 

Shiho’s head turns down and Sakamoto does the same when he hears her gasp. Shiho could barely contain her squeals at the sight of a small cartoonish cat. While it was odd, she decided to ignore that for a moment to look at it’s adorable face. When she notices that he’s imprisoned like everyone else here, she frowns. While her parents never let her have a pet, she always loved animals so seeing one imprisoned in a cell breaks her heart.

“What is that thing!?” From Sakamoto’s reaction, he didn’t seem to find the cat as cute as she did. She quickly hushes him. “Your yelling could be scaring him!”

“You’re not soldiers of this castle, right?! Get me out of here!” The black creature points behind them. “The key is right there!”

Shiho turns around and picks up said key on top of the crate while the blonde scoffs. “We’re trying to get the hell out of here! I mean, you obviously look like an enemy too!”

The girl next to him gives him a disapproving look. “I understand your concern, but he’s locked in a cell like we were. He’s most likely not an enemy.” Her eyes now with worry as she looks at the animal. “Besides, look how small and helpless the cat is. It won’t take up much time to help him out.” 

“Yeah! What she said!” While said cat disliked the ‘small and helpless’ part, the girl’s sympathy can really help him right now. He paused for a moment as he processed the rest of her sentence. “Except that last part! I am NOT a cat!” 

The boy only gives him a doubtful look, while the girl tilts her head in confusion as she stares at the apparent ‘not cat’. The three jolt at the sound of clanking metal in the distance. 

“They’re catchin’ up already!?” Sakamoto quickly checks his phone. Shiho sighs with relief when she hears him whisper. “Shit, there’s still no service. How the hell do we get out of here!?”

“Hey, you two! You want to know where the exit is? Let me out and I’ll take you there.” Both students share a look for a moment at his offer. Shiho is willing to let him out, but for him to lead them around the castle it could possibly end badly if he’s just saying this to persuade them or lead them into a trap. Sakamoto apparently has a similar idea from his glare toward him. “You don’t want to get caught and executed, right?” 

Before Sakamoto can make any objections, the ponytailed girl kneels closer to the cat’s eye level. He can feel her stare into him, reading him, but her voice was gentle at the same time. “Can you really help us? I want to trust you, but I refuse to let Sakamoto-san and I die here.” 

She’s serious. Even if her tone says one thing, her eyes say she is willing to make him pay if he did break her trust. The ‘not cat’ had to give it to her, despite her soft looks she was quite determined when it counted. 

A confident smile forms on his face. “I never go back on my word!” 

“This thing sounds like it’s all talk…”

He glares at Sakamoto. “If you guys think you can get out on your own, be my guest!”

The boy only scowls, knowing he doesn’t have many options. He doesn’t feel like trusting anyone not human right now, so he turns to the only person he can trust right now. 

“Whadda we do...?”

His companion quickly looks at their options. There are guards around the corner and if the ‘not cat’ is telling the truth then they have a greater chance of escaping, but if they reject his offer they’ll more likely get caught. Besides that possible seed of doubt planted, her heart tells her he’s well-intentioned. A bit snappy, but he reminds her of a helpless child at this moment. 

“I think we should trust him, there are better chances for us compared to not accepting his help.”

Hearing the metal clanking come closer, Sakamoto turns to him, glowering. “Are you seriously not messin’ with us!?”

The creature’s voice gets more annoyed as the blonde keeps using up more time questioning him. “If you don’t hurry, they’ll catch you.”

He sighs, knowing Shiho's right when she said they didn’t have many options. “F-fine.”

Shiho beams at his answer and unlocks the cell. She giggles as the creature skips and stretches his little stubby arms. Sakamoto can’t help but roll his eyes at her obvious weakness toward animals. But he couldn’t blame her, he noticed her smile was more genuine than the one when he first met her when she first spotted the cat. He was more of a dog person and this cat was too sassy for his liking.

“Ahhh… Freedom tastes so great…” 

“Now, where’s the exit, you monster cat!?”

His jovial mood was quickly replaced with indignation. “Don’t call me a cat! I am Morgana!”

“Shuddup and hurry it up! You wanna be locked up again!?”

Shiho quickly got between the two and gives Sakamoto a stern glare. “There’s no need to antagonize him, he’s an ally now.” Despite only knowing her for a couple hours, her soft eyes looking disappointed actually made him feel a little guilty. Just a little. 

Her stern expression changes to a gentle one as she looks toward Morgana. “We’ll let you lead the way, okay?” 

Morgana smugly grins at the blonde, liking that she was taking his side. “Your friend here obviously has more manners and respect compared to you.”

As he runs past them, the boy quickly glares at the small creature as he and Shiho start to run with their new companion, leading them to the same statue they ran into earlier. Sakamoto raises his eyebrow as he questions him. 

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m lowering the bridge.” He turns to Shiho expectantly. “You, Ponytail. It seems like you pick up things faster than Blondie over here. Try checking around the mouth of this statue.”

She feels around the jaw, she realizes it’s a bit loose and pulls it down. Both students jump a bit at it’s eyes glowing.

“How were we supposed to know to do that!?”

Shiho looks at the statue and drawbridge, making the connection. “Well, it is like the movies with the hidden switches in a castle, but it’s strange to use one for a drawbridge of all things.” 

He gives Shiho an impressed smile. “Ponytail has the right idea.” He immediately glares at Sakamoto. “You Blondie, are an amatur. Come on, let’s keep going!”

Shiho frowns at Morgana’s jab, finding it quite unnecessary, while Sakamoto narrows his eyes at the passing cat. Both students decide to hold their comments in favor of following Morgana. As they all run, they suddenly stop in their tracks. 

“A-Aah! Shit… Shit, it’s them!” Another large armored guard turns to them as he hears Sakamoto. The blonde stumbles to the floor, but next to him blue flames wrap around Shiho and change her clothes to the golden armor from earlier. She stares, bewildered by her clothes suddenly changing again, while Morgana leaps over the boy. 

“Tch… You amatur! Stay still!” Seeing the girl’s sudden change in appearance, he got an idea. “Ponytail! You can fight, right? Let’s go!”

Morgana jumps in the air and as he lands on his feet, blue flames Shiho recognizes erupt around him. What comes out of the flames is a being she can’t help but feel is similar to Medusa. 

“Come! Zorro!” A muscular and mustached man appears, flicking his sword out slicing the air in a ‘z’ shape. He’s at a massive size compared to the small creature, but he holds the same grandeur Morgana presents himself with. 

“Y-you got one of those too!?” Sakamoto gapes at the man above, starting to get a sense that magical beings appearing from others is the norm here. 

Morgana smirked as the guard transformed like the previous ones. “Hmph, we will promptly shut them up!” He looks at Shiho expectantly. She nods, knowing exactly what to do. She prepares her spear for the incoming fight. 

Morgana and Shiho stand in front of Sakamoto to make sure no harm comes to him. It’s them against the same pumpkin from before and a new creature reminding her of a demon. “Damn shadows… They’ve taken up an intercept position.”

_They’re called shadows? They look more like demons with how monsterous they’ve been looking._ Not minding the naming she continues to listen to the more experienced Morgana.

“It means they’re holding nothing back and are serious to kill us!” He twirls gracefully with his blade. Shiho giggles at how much of an adorable show off he is. “I’ll back you up! Let’s go!”

Starting off strong, Shiho summons Medusa. The snakelike woman releases a dark spell on the demon creature. Morgana just shakes his head, smirking. “Hmph, I knew you were an ametur.” 

Ryuji rolls his eyes from the back while Shiho gives Morgana a curious look, not sure where she went wrong. “This is how you fight!” Summoning his persona, the muscular man swipes his sword, summoning a wind spell. She immediately notices how the enemy is stunned. Morgana tells her how enemies have different elemental weaknesses that knock them down and to use that as an opening to attack again. Using said opening, Morgana finishes off the enemy Shiho attacked. She quickly finishes off the last one by stabbing it with her spear. 

Morgana beams. “Not bad, you’re Persona’s powerful.” Sakamoto jumps back slightly when blue flames transform Shiho back to her school uniform. Morgana hums thoughtfully. “It looks like you don’t have full control over your powers yet. The transformation shouldn’t normally dissolve like that.”

Sakamoto rubs his head, frustration growing as Morgana goes on. “That’s enough! This crap doesn’t make any sense.”

Shiho couldn’t blame Sakamoto’s outburst, she was having a hard time grasping this as reality. The monsters, magic, and now random money falling into her pocket, it all seems like some strange dream. 

Morgana’s expression grows just as frustrated as Sakamoto’s. “Can’t you just sit still and listen for once, Blondie!?”

The boy’s voice grows louder. “Don’t call me Blondie! My name’s Ryuji!

Shiho sighs, starting to feel a bit worn out from playing peacemaker. _Their personalities clashing is going to be a recurring problem..._ “Come on, guys. We don’t have time for this.”

Morgana’s eyes widen, but go back to being annoyed. “She’s right! There’s no time for me to lecture you if you both want to get out of this place in one piece! Let’s go!” 

While running, Morgana reaches into his pocket. His voice catches her attention. “Ponytail, catch! It’s medicine!”

She nods at the containers she grabs from the air. She smiles at Morgana, thanking him. “No problem! The exit should be close, but it's just a precaution.” 

As they run past the many cells, Ryuji's eyes quickly catch a prisoner’s uniform. “I feel like I’ve seen what that dude’s wearin’ before…”

The young teenager is wearing a red jersey and shorts. While her old school had a different design and she hasn’t played in months, her endless hours of practicing and competitions tell her she knows this.

“Does he play on your school’s volleyball team?” 

Ryuji nods, his memory coming back to him. “Yeah! Wait… How do you know that?”

Shiho hesitates. “I... used to play at my last school. The uniforms are similar.” 

“Hey, you two! Less talking! More running!”

Ryuji looks behind, the despairing students becoming farther in the distance and his expression becoming more subdued. “But… who are these guys?”

“We don’t have time to worry about other people right now!? Besides they’re-”

Suddenly more guards approach and her clothes change again. The girl notices the pattern, the will to fight is what activates her powers. Seeing Morgana’s nod of approval she has a feeling she’s right. 

She smiles back at her new fighting partner, ready to battle again. This fight wasn’t as long due Shiho following Morgana’s advice from earlier. As she changed back, she couldn’t help but marvel how she’s able to now one shot enemies with Medusa, feeling more confident with her abilities. Morgana grins, proud she was improving enough that he didn’t need to help her take care of small-fries. 

The two turn back to Ryuji, his expression still subdued while looking back to where the prisoners are. “We can’t just leave these guys here…”

“You really don’t get it, do you?” He pauses, trying to think of his next words, but they don’t come out. “...There’s no time to explain. Look I’m going. If you don’t want to follow, be my guest!” 

As Morgana treads ahead, Shiho gives an apologetic look. “Sakamoto-san, I want to help them as much as you do, but we won’t be able to if we get caught.” 

Ryuji frowns. As much as it frustrated him, he knows they’re right… But he appreciates her more gentle approach. 

He smiles, comforting her worries. “Yeah… You’re right. Let’s get outta here!”

Both students catch up to their feline companion. “About time! The entrance hall is right above here! The exit should be close!” 

Like Morgana said, they're right back to where they start. Shiho never felt so relieved to see a gigantic chandelier. He leads them to one of the hallways by the entrance. The two exhale all the pent up stress and adrenaline at the sight of a door. Sakamoto tries to open up but it doesn’t budge. 

“D’you trick us, you jerk!?”

For once, Morgana is calmly responding to Shiho’s surprise. “Don’t jump to conclusions. Over here!”

“H-hey wait!”

They follow Morgana to a hidden, more tight hallway to the side. Confused at the lack of an exit, Shiho tries to think more like Morgana. He’s crafty and quick, like a thief or spy of sorts. There’s most likely a hidden exit like one of those James Bond movies from overseas she saw. 

“Where are we supposed to get out from here!? There aren’t even any windows!”

Morgana shakes his head, becoming more disappointed in the blonde. “Ugh, amateur… This is the most basic of basics.”

Shiho points upward. “I think he means the ventilation shaft.”

“Yup! As I thought, you’re a natural at this. It leads all the way outside.” Shiho couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, especially since she was just making simple observations. Morgana’s constant praises aren’t something she’s used to getting throughout her life. 

Ryuji steps forward to examine it for himself. “I see… Then we just gotta get that metallic mesh off.”

When Ryuji starts dashing forward, Shiho instinctively calls out. “Sakamoto-san, be careful!” The loud crash of the boy’s body and a metallic clang hit the ground. Ryuji was able to remove the metallic mesh like he said and the ventilation shaft is now open. What impressed her was how he was able to do it with his leg’s condition. If he was already this strong normally, she can’t imagine how much he would have if he gains a similar power to her and Morgana’s. 

“Oww… Crap! The enemy didn’t hear us, did they?”

Shiho shakes her head. “I don’t think so.” She offers her hand, which he accepts. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good but we’re finally getting out of here!” Shiho found his smile infectious enough that she couldn’t help but smile as well. 

“Not to interrupt your little victory cheer, but you should wait on celebrating until you actually get out.” His face forms a similar smile to the two, but more encouraging. “Now, get going.”

Despite his initial distrust toward Morgana, he felt thankful for him keeping his promise. “But… what about you?” 

“There’s something that I still have to do, so we’re going our separate ways.” Tearing up a bit, Shiho immediately picks up Morgana to give him a big hug. “Hey!” The cat blushes at the girl’s sudden affection. “Thank you! Thank you! We’ll never forget what you did for us here.” She finishes her hug with a light peck on his cheek, making him turn even more red than before. Ryuji chuckles at the sight, a weird cat with a high bravado losing his cool with a cute girl. Typical, but he would be the same if he was in his position. 

Gaining his composer back as the brunette lets him down he quickly scolds them. “Y-you both better be careful not to get caught again.” 

Shiho giggles while Ryuji rolls his eyes but with a lot less annoyance than before and gives him a small thankful smile. Both students wave goodbye before climbing to the vent. 

Morgana looks at the vent thoughtfully. “Those two seem useful… Especially the one with the ponytail, if my judgement is correct.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Medusa was originally a beautiful priestess that attracted many suitors. One of these suitors was one of the gods, Poseidon. He would rape her in Athena's sacred temple. Athena became furious at what transpired at her temple and punished Medusa by giving her well known monstrous appearance and the curse of anyone looking into her eyes turning into stone. 
> 
> As you can see, what happened to Medusa is bullshit. The idea for this story came up I was while taking a Mythology class last year and hearing this. Shiho's situation in vanilla game related a lot to her and other rape victims (especially those who were blamed/punished for being the victim). Relating the idea of Shiho ending up on probation due to a man in power putting the blame on her (aka Shido) to Medusa's story made me want to explore the idea this being her backstory for her.
> 
> Thank you for reading this chapter and I wish you all good health during these times!


	4. Chapter 3: Rumors

Monday, April 11 Morning 

The world around them morphs. The mysterious castle is no more and now there’s a wide sidewalk with various buildings on the side around them. Shiho notices how they appear in the middle of the sidewalk and not in the alleyway they originally entered. What’s odd is how pedestrians don’t really seem to take note of their sudden presence. Both teens breath heavily, truly calming down at the sight of a recognizable area. 

Ryuji catches his breath before speaking. “Did we make it?”

“Yeah… I think so…” As she takes her phone out to check the time, a voice comes out of it. 

“You have returned to the real world. Welcome back.”

Ryuji scratches his head. “Huh? Returned? Does that mean we got away?”

Processing the city around her, it dawned on Shiho. They’re here and alive. Joy leaps through her as she jumps on Ryuji, embracing him. The boy’s face becomes a darker shade of red, realizing sudden hugs and affection most likely normal for the girl. 

“Yeah, we did it!” Seeing others are staring, she quickly lets him go, feeling rather sheepish. “S-sorry... I got too excited.” 

Ryuji rubs the back of his neck, looking away from her eyes. “N-no, it’s cool…” A still silence fills the air for a moment before the blonde changes the subject. “Sooo, what was all that anyways?”

“I… have no idea. It all feels bizarre but it felt so _real._ ” 

“The castle, Kamoshida, and that weird cat!” His voice gets louder the more he tries to wrap his head around that surreal experience. “The hell’s goin’ on?” 

“What’s with the yelling?” Shiho and Ryuji turn to see two police officers approach. “Are you students of Shujin?”

The officer next to him scowls. “Cutting classes, are we?”

Shiho quickly cuts in, trying to salvage the misunderstanding. “N-no, officers. I’m a transfer student and my classmate was just showing me a shortcut to school. We made a wrong turn and got lost.” 

“Yeah, we ended up at some weird castle.” Ryuji adds. 

Shiho mentally facepalms. _No one is going to believe THAT part._

One officer sighs, scrutinizing them both. “...What?”

“Hand over your bag. You better not be doing any drugs.”

“Why the hell would you think that!?” 

Shiho whispers to the blonde as she removes her bag from her shoulder. “Just do what he says, Sakamoto-san.”

“You.” She almost drops her bag as she shakes for a moment at the officer’s pointed look. “Are you his girlfriend?”

“W-what? N-no! Like I said earlier, I transferred here recently. I just met him today.”

He raises his eyebrow. “You two seemed rather close, hugging like that in public earlier.”

The brunette sputters, unable to come up with an explanation. Shiho knows public display of affection is uncommon in society, but she never really cared too much before. She didn’t think a small gesture like that would cause this much trouble. 

The officer shakes his head, unconvinced. “Whatever relationship you have, just take him with you to school.” 

“Hey! Neither one of us don’t know what’s goin’ on.” 

“We passed by Shujin on our way here. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it. If you spout any more nonsense, I’ll contact the school. Is that what you want?”

Ryuji looks at her expectantly. She stares back, shrugging. _He doesn’t expect me to try to convince them our weird experience was real, right?_ She levels her voice to a calm and emphasized tone. “Let’s get going. We wouldn’t want to be late.”

“Uh, that’s not what I meant…” 

Seeing he wasn’t taking the out, Shiho yanks on his arm and the boy yells indignantly as he follows. 

~~~

Monday, April 11 Noon

Shiho’s nervousness goes up when she looks at her phone. Lunchtime is already starting and she knows the inevitable punishment is coming. Ryuji will most likely be fine, but being late on her first day while on probation won’t look good.

“Is this for real…” Hearing the blonde’s confusion, she lifts her head and her eyes widen at the regular high school. She was hesitant about taking the so-called shortcut again after last time, but relented after Ryuji’s insistence. “I’m sure we came the same way… What’s goin’ on here?”

Finding out she’s most likely going crazy isn’t helping her situation at all. She starts to tremble. _What if they expel her again? What if they tell her parents? What if everything gets worse? What if-_

“Suzui! Hey, Suzui!?” 

She snaps out of her trance when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She slaps it away. Realizing what she’s done when looking at Ryuji’s shocked expression, she immediately looks apologetic. 

Her eyes darted away from him, looking meek. “I-I’m sorry, but please don’t touch me…” 

He frowns, not really sure what to say to her. _Oh god, I’m probably confusing him since I hugged him earlier. Why am I like this?_ She doesn’t mind giving affection but recently, people touching her first have felt like poison. It’s strange and contradictory and she knows it. Maybe the castle was in her imagination because all the confidence she had there is gone now. 

“You two must be the students the police called about.” A man’s harsh voice sends shivers down her spine. Shiho tries to take deep breaths. She’s never been late once in her life and the one time she is it’s when it matters most. Then the police prove once again how unreliable they are to her.

Ryuji hisses next to her. “That cop snitched on us after all!”

The man looks at Shiho with curiosity. Ryuji glares at him seeing Shiho become more uncomfortable as he looks at her.

“It’s rare to not see you alone.” He looks toward Ryuji with a stern glare. “Where were you roaming around until this time?”

He sputters, unable to come up with an answer he quickly thinks of the first thing on his mind. “Uhh… a ca-castle?”

The girl whispers rather irritably at the boy, anxiety running through her. “Why the hell did you say that of all things!?”

His voice becomes just as irate. “I panicked!” 

The man’s glare deepens at the students’ bickering. “So, you have no intention of giving an honest answer.”

A familiar voice comes into the conversation. “What’s this about a “castle”?”

“Kamoshida!?” Ryuji’s shock fills the air. Shiho jumps in alarm at seeing the man who tormented them for the last couple of hours. 

“You seem so carefree, Sakamoto. Quite a difference from when you did morning practice for the track team.”

“Shaddup! It’s your fault that-”

“How dare you speak to Mr. Kamoshida that way!” The man sighs, already getting tired of the whole situation. “...There’s not much leeway left for you, you know?”

“He’s the one who provoked me!” 

“Do you really want to be expelled!? In any case, you’ll have to explain yourself!”

Shiho whispers to him, wanting him to avoid taking anymore of the bait. “Sakamoto-san, just let it go!” 

He ignores her. “What!? This is bullshit!”

Kamoshida smiles, but Shiho can sense the sham behind it. While she does it to hide her own feelings, his fake smile has a more sinister undertone. It’s like he was laughing at Ryuji’s outburst. 

“She is right, you know. You just have to let that go, Sakamoto.” There was a hint of smugness to his tone. His eyes drift to Shiho briefly then to the man. “Come now. I should have been more considerate, too. Let’s just say that we were both to blame.”

The man rubs his head, willing to let this situation finally end. “Well, if you say so… Sakamoto, you’re coming with me. It’s undeniable that you’re extremely late.”

“Fine…” He follows the man into the school, but quickly glares at Kamoshida before going inside the school. 

“By the way…” Now alone, Kamoshida’s full attention goes to Shiho. “You’re that new transfer student, correct? Shiho Suzui…”

His eyes look over her body and then looks deeply at her face. _What is he doing!?_ Remembering that way he acted in the palace, she couldn’t help but feel fear.

She gives out a short reply. “Yes...”

He gives her the same unsettling smile from earlier in the day. “It’s hard transfering to a new school. If you need someone to talk to, feel free to find me.” 

She blinked at him. His sudden kindness is unexpected and she shouldn’t correlate what happened to the palace to this man, but everything about him in this reality seems off. 

“Oh… um… thank you.”

“Just avoid trouble getting into trouble. You wouldn’t want to be expelled, right?” 

“Of course.” She nods, hoping this is the end to this conversation. 

“Just go to the faculty office. Your teacher is waiting for you there.” 

His hand touches her shoulder. She shivers and it takes all of her control to not slap it away. 

She bows quickly. “Thank you! Goodbye!”

Shiho walks away as fast as she could, but she can feel his eyes bore into her as she goes. 

~~~

Saturday, November 19 Time Unknown

“The school turned into an old castle…? A talking cat…?” Sae narrows her eyes at the girl in front of her. “...Are you hallucinating from an overdose? I won’t put up with you if you’re simply joking around.”

Seeing the girl’s serious expression, Sae glances at her watch. _I need to get a move on._

“I’m going to have you continue the story. The one who received a “calling card” form the Phantom Thieves was an Olympic medalist.” The woman moves two cards to show an image of a man with a square jaw. “...An alumnus from Shujin academy-the PE teacher Suguru Kamoshida.”

Sae notices the girl's glare at the photograph. “It’s true that what he did were deplorable crimes from… indulging his desire. He confessed to it all. But there should’ve been no connection between the two of you since you had just transferred. Why did you target him?”

Brown eyes look away for a moment. Exhaustion seeps into the brunette’s voice with a hint of bitterness. “I’ll tell you everything. But it isn’t a happy story.” 

~~~

Shiho can hear students bustling and talking all over as she goes through the hallways. So many voices and they all point to her. 

“She’s the criminal who got into all sorts of stuff.”

“I heard she assaulted a man.”

“She definitely has dangerous stuff in her bag.”

“Apparently she and Sakamoto came in late together.”

“It’s probably best to stay away from her.” 

She walks faster as she hears more voices. Keeping her head down, she tries to ignore it, but they only get louder. Tears slowly seep into her eyes as her shaking grows. _Everyone knows…_

Once she sees the faculty office, she slams the door as she goes inside. The voices are gone but now teachers are staring at her. Her teacher, Ms. Kawakami sighs at her arrival. 

“Unbelievable…”

She flushes at the attention and goes to Kawakami’s desk, awaiting the inevitable scolding. 

“Being over half a day late on your first day… Can you explain yourself?”

Shiho knows she doesn’t have many options, so she goes for the closest one to the truth. “I got lost…” 

She gives the girl an unconvinced look. “How could you be lost for this long? It’s almost lunchtime.” Seeing her sullen expression, she tries to go easy on her. “Well, it’s probably true that you’re not used to the area yet… but you’re still too late.” 

The girl’s voice is quietly apologetic. “I’m so sorry, Ms Kawakami. It won’t happen again.” 

“Suzui, you need to pull yourself together. I gave you a fair warning yesterday. More importantly, I heard you were caught along with that Sakamoto-kun.”

Shiho frowns. “What do you mean by ‘that Sakamoto-kun’?”

“Just don’t get involved with him. I know girls your age want that sort of... “excitement” with a boy like him, but he’s nothing but trouble.” 

The girl vigorously shakes her head. “I-it’s nothing like that!” 

“Save it. I heard from the police.” Shiho internally fumes. She can deal with her teacher chewing her out for being late, but assuming such things from her when she barely knows her just infuriates her. 

Kawakami looks away thoughtfully. “He wasn’t like that when he was devoting his time to track and field though…” Shiho composes herself when she turns her attention back to her. “Anyway, break is almost over. Classes will end after the fifth period today because of the subway accident. I’ll have you introduce yourself when class resumes. Follow me.”

While walking down the hallways with Kawakami, Shiho feels more at ease with the students now in the classrooms. She tries to prepare herself for incoming whispers. _How did they even find out about my criminal record?_

Kawakami’s voice brings her out of her thoughts. ”By the way, when you introduce yourself, be serious about it even if you’re lying to the class, okay? Do NOT say anything unnecessary.”

Shiho nods. As much as Kawakami has angered her, she would rather avoid giving her any more trouble. 

As they enter the classroom, everyone immediately chatters at the sight of the apparent criminal transfer student. Shiho clutches her right arm and tries her best to focus on anything but their voices without much success. 

“Being super late on her first day? She really is insane…”

“She looks normal though…”

“But she might slug us if we look her in the eyes…”

“Settle down.” When Kawakami hushes them, all their eyes are focused on her. She averts from their gazes in favor of the floor. “...Well, I’d like to introduce a transfer student: Shiho Suzui. Today, we… had her attend from the afternoon on since she wasn’t feeling well.” She turns to the girl. “All right, please say something to the class.” 

There’s a silent pause. “Suzui?” 

Shiho shakes when she looks at the faces in front of her. It takes all her willpower to snap out of her stupor. 

She lets out a breath and a soft voice. “N-nice to meet you. I’m Shiho Suzui.”

“She seems quiet and mouselike but I bet when she loses it…”

“I mean she was arrested for assault, right?”

Awkwardly trying to ignore their whispers, Kawakami looks around the room for an empty desk. “...Uhh, so… Your seat will be… hm…” Her bright blonde hair catching the teacher’s attention, she sees a desk behind the student. She points to said desk by the window. “Over there. That one’s open.” She speaks to the students in that area. “Sorry but can the people nearby please share your textbooks with her for today?”

Shiho notices the girl next to the desk mumble complaints and a bruised up boy grumbling near her. When she makes eye contact with the boy he avoids her, but she forgets about the boy when Kawakami gives her an impatient look. The brunette keeps her eyes on the floor as she goes but her ears catch a voice before she sits down. 

“Lies.” Shiho looks up and recognizes the blue eyed girl sitting in front of her new seat. She can’t help but tremble a bit under her intense look, like she was evaluating her. The blonde turns away from the brunette’s confused look and Shiho hesitantly sits down. _What was that about?_

She groans to herself when she realizes she made a scene for staring at her when more whispers take up the classroom. Guilt hits her when the whispers are not just about her anymore but also the girl, but she looks unbothered by the talking. It seems like she’s used to it. After some announcement about a volleyball rally from Kawakami, Shiho takes out her notebook and pencil preparing herself for the hell the school year is going to give her. 

~~~

Getting undressed in front of others in the locker room already made Shiho uncomfortable, but the whispers from the other girls don’t help. Even though their attention is because of the rumors about her, this many people seeing her body makes her feel insecure. When she gets changed, there’s someone waiting outside the girl’s locker room, a familiar man she would rather stay away from, Kamoshida. 

He plasters that same smile. “Suzui! I need you to come to my office for a moment.”

The chatter quiets down as others look at the teacher and student interacting. Shiho even catches Ryuji’s scowl and the blonde girl’s frown. She grimaces at the spotlight on her and only gives a man a mumble. “Yes, sir.”

As they walk down the hallway by the gym, Shiho feels more anxious at each step she takes. He’s giving off so many red flags to her and she’s not sure how to handle it. People would just assume he’s just helping her out because she’s new and if she tries to voice her concerns, her credibility here is already at an all time low. She’s hoping that this is just a simple run through of the class. 

“This is my office. If you ever need anything don’t be afraid to come visit.” He’s still giving her that same grin. She only gives her thanks, waiting for him to get to the point. There is a moment of silence, like he was expecting her to say something. 

“You’re pretty anxious, aren’t you?”

“Oh… it’s just the first day jitters.” _Totally not your unsettling behavior at all._ “...Was there any other reason to call me here?” 

He shakes his head. “I just want to make sure to look out for you since it is your first day, especially since everyone is talking about you.” 

“I’m fine. There’s no need to worry.” She really wasn’t but his “concern” isn’t comforting at all. 

His tone is becoming a bit impatient, but he still has that smile. “Alright but like I said you can come to me if you need anything. Let’s go back, I’m sure we’re pretty late already, huh?” As they both walk back to the gym, she thinks over the conversation. He wanted something from this and the thought of that unsettled her. She doesn’t have proof of anything that drastic but there’s still this bad feeling. 

When they get back Shiho quickly walks toward her class, making it in time for attendance. The students’ attention when her name was mentioned made her shrink under their gaze. Shiho was never a student that was the topic of idle gossip. She usually kept to herself and the most attention she would get was for her grades and volleyball so this constant attention was new in the worst way possible.

Her teacher checks the last name and looks at the class. “Okay, we’re going to do sit-ups as warmups before we start. Partner up.”

He left with little care to go socialize with other teachers while leaving a group of groaning teenagers. Everyone quickly picks their own partner and Shiho is left with the disadvantage of barely knowing anyone. Her mind quickly went for Ryuji as a potential partner since their classes are partnered together today, but tragically the rule of partnering with someone of the same gender in school ruins any hope of that idea. Shiho winces when she sees the blonde girl as her only option. 

She takes a deep breath before she starts to approach her. The girl looks rather disinterested, glancing at her red manicured nails. She raises a curious eyebrow at the brunette’s appearance. 

Shiho hesitates for a moment. “Um… You want to be partners?”

“I was hoping to sit out like usual.” The girl sighs. “Let’s go.”

Shiho shyly follows the girl to a corner away from most of the other students. The blonde didn’t bother to ask if she wanted to go first and just laid on her back, knees bent and pointed upward. Shiho immediately grabbed her ankles to hold her in place. Time passes and she quickly notices her stiff upward movements. 

“Your form…. it sorta sucks.” She panics when the girl stops mid sit-up and raises an eyebrow. “Sorry! What I mean is if you’re having a hard time with regular sit-ups you can just do half sit-ups-“ 

Her panic changes to confusion when she hears the blonde giggle. For the first time she actually sees her smile slightly. 

“No one here has ever been THAT straightforward with me.” 

She sits up. She holds out her hand and gives Shiho a friendly smile. “I’m Ann Takamaki.” Still confused, she reluctantly shakes Takamaki’s hand. 

“Sorry about… well everything. It’s just everyone at this school either avoids me or refuses to be honest with me just because I was born outside Japan, so I thought you’d be the same.” 

Shiho frowns. She had an inkling based on how much people whispered about her. “I’m so sorry…” 

Takamaki’s smile only grows wider as she waves her hand nonchalantly. “It’s fine. I’m used to it.” She bites her lips, contemplating her next words. “But I… want to apologize to how cold I’ve been treating you. When you were staring at me this morning I thought you were making fun of me like everyone else.” 

Shiho frantically shakes her head. “I admit I was surprised seeing you, but I just thought your hair looked nice! It’s silky and thick so…” 

There’s silence. It’s quickly broken by a fit of giggles coming from Takamaki. “So that’s it huh?” She wipes a single tear as she calms down. “You want me to give you some tips? I can tell you the hair products I use and my routine.” 

Shiho gives her a small smile. “Y-yeah. I would like that.” 

After warmups, their class was assigned to jog around the gym, while Ryuji's played volleyball in the center. Shiho internally felt grateful she had someone in her own class to talk to. They talked about various things about their lives. Shiho gapes in astonishment at how Takamaki’s parents are fashion designers, her living in many countries before settling in Japan, and how she herself is a model. 

“Enough about me! Tell me about you!” 

Shiho’s eyes look around nervously. “My life isn’t nearly as impressive as your’s. It’s rather normal in comparison….” 

“Don’t be modest! You're an athlete, right?” Takamaki continues seeing her surprised expression. “You’ve been jogging pretty fast. Plus, you're barely breaking a sweat from this. I’m having a hard time just keeping up with you.” 

Shiho immediately slows her pace. “Sorry! Force of habit.” 

“It’s fine! No need to apologize. Were you in track at your last school?” 

She bites her lip. “...Volleyball actually. I was the setter.” 

Shiho starts explaining at Ann's curiosity. “Setters are responsible for running the team’s attacks and building up opportunities to score by setting up the ball toward other players to score. They also have to play in the back and front row, so they also need to be able to block and serve.” 

Ann hums. “So they’re like the brain of the team?” 

“If you put it that way yeah.” She starts listing off with her fingers. “They need to be able to make quick and skillful evaluations, have good communication and skills, and tactical accuracy. They also need to be quick enough to move around the court.” 

“Wow! That’s a lot… You’re pretty impressive to be able to do all that!” 

Shiho gives an embarrassed chuckle. “Thank you. It’s been a while since I talked about volleyball.” 

Her smile disappears when her eyes catch Kamoshida’s for a moment. Ann quickly gathers her reaction as Shiho turns away. 

She whispers. “Just try not to make it look like you noticed and ignore him. It helps me get through it.” 

“W-what?!”

“Kamoshida’s been bothering me and many other girls for a while now.”

“Has anyone told any of the teachers?!” Shiho tries to focus on Ann to get rid of any feeling of his stares. She couldn’t believe that they would let him get away with this type of behavior toward this many students. 

Takamaki lets out a grim laugh. “No chance. He’s practically treated like a king. They let him get away with anything as long as he earns pretty little trophies for the school.” 

_Again with him being a king._ Seeing her distress, Ann tries to offer her best, albeit weak smile. “Just try to avoid him. It’s the best we can do around here.” 

Takamaki’s face looks rather… resigned. This school reveals itself to be more of a living hell with each new thing she learns about it. 

~~

Monday, April 11 After School

The rest of her classes were nothing of note. As she walks out the classroom, a rush of dizziness comes to her. An image of a familiar palace briefly pops within the school hallway. 

_This again…_

“Suzui? What’s wrong?” 

A concerned voice snaps her back into reality. She turns to see Kawakami with furrowed brows. Shiho shakes her head wanting to avoid any more confrontation. 

“I’m okay… Just a headache…”

“If you’re sure… I wouldn’t blame you since people are already talking about you, but I’m not the one who told them.” She groans, frustrated as she runs her fingers through her hair. “I can’t even catch a break… Why do I have to deal with this?”

Shiho tries to hold down the spark of irritation going through her as her teacher complains. She understands how hard it can be to have a student with a reputation like her’s, but it wasn’t like she’s having it any easier either. 

Kawakami turns to her with an expected look. “You should head straight home without stopping by anywhere. Sakura-san sounded pretty disappointed.” Shiho mentally grimaces at that. “Oh, and about Sakamoto-kun. Don’t get involved-”

She stops at the sight of said boy, sighing. “Speak of the devil…” She gives him a stern look. “What do you want? I heard the police caught you cutting classes today.”

He scowls. “Ugh… It was nothin’.”

Kawakami proceeds to look over him, responding with another exasperated sigh. “And you haven’t dyed your hair back to black either…”

“Sorry ‘bout that.” He briskly ignores her complaints, walks up close to Shiho and whispers. Kawakami frowns at this. “...I’ll be waitin’ on the rooftop.” Shiho looks at him, wide-eyed before he leaves. 

Another sigh. “See? That’s why I don’t want you getting involved. You don’t seem like a bad girl so just avoid him for your own sake. Understood?”

Leaving it at that, Kawakami walks off. If this were a normal day, Shiho would at least think over her advice, but after what happened today she couldn’t. Whispers around her already grow louder, from what she can guess, her interaction with Ryuji. Screw it. She’s already tired and she would rather get some answers talking to him by this point. 

“Sakamoto is already corrupting Suzui by trying to forcefully associate with her.” Hearing her name she turns to the source of the voice. “He won’t make it easy on her if he continues, you know. Plus, with how much of a ruckus he’s been causing lately I'd be pointless how much I contribute to the school.”

Her irritation from her conversation with Kawakami only grows as she overhears. Everyone is quick to either make assumptions about her and now teachers are trying to talk down on Ryuji. She may not know him too well, but from her experience in that palace he couldn’t be as bad as the rumors portrayed him to be.

“Now don’t be like that… This school counts on you Kamoshida-kun. You are our star. Still, a steady build-up is necessary behind such brilliance as well. I’m sure she’ll know well enough not to interact with him after this morning.”

The annoyance in his voice smoothly changes to a sympathetic one. But to Shiho, something sounds insincere behind it. “...Your troubles never seem to end, do they, Principle Kobayakawa? ...All right, I understand. I’ll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me.”

Kobayakawa nods in response before heading off. Kamoshida smirks as he turns to see Shiho squeak in surprise at him noticing her presence. “Eavesdropping are we?” 

The brunette composes herself before answering in a neutral tone. “I didn’t mean to… I was just passing through. Excuse me.” Like a mouse, the timid girl scurries off with students' voices filling the air. 

“...The transfer student is going to meet with Sakamoto?”

“Maybe they’re seeing each other.”

As he hears the voices around him. The man’s private scowl becomes more evident as he watches Suzui. 

~~

The double door in front of her has an off-limits sign posted up, but it looks like the door is unlocked. Shiho takes a deep breath and opens the door. She spots the blonde sitting near a cluster of metal desks with various plants on top. Ryuji casually has his feet up on one of the empty desks and he gives her an impatient frown as he sees her arrival.

“There you are.”

Shiho awkwardly chuckles. “Here I am…”

At Ryuji’s furrowed look she clears her throat. “Sorry…”

He waves his hand at her sullen look. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m sorry for callin’ you up here like this. I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like “don’t get involved with him,” huh?”

“She did… Something about you being trouble.”

“Heh, we’re pretty much in the same boat there.” He adjusts his posture, directly looking in her eyes. “I heard you got a criminal record.”

Shiho glares. “You and everyone else. I would rather not talk about it if that’s all you wanted.” 

He shakes his head. “No, I... “ He runs his hand through his hair, trying to think about his words before continuing. “...What was all that happened? You know, how we almost got killed at the castle.” His face becomes bewildered recalling the event. “It wasn’t a dream… right? You remember it too, yeah?”

Seeing he was just confused as she was, she softens her gaze. “Yeah. Nice to know I’m not going crazy…”

“Well, just ‘cause we both remember it doesn’t mean much though…” He gives her an impressed look. “I mean, even if it was a dream, you saved me from Kamoshida.” He smiles. “So yeah… Thanks, Shiho.” 

She raises an eyebrow at the use of her first name, but she decides to let him off the hook as she smiles sheepishly. “Your welcome, Ryuji, but it wasn’t a big deal.”

He grins, accepting the use of his first name. “No way that ‘wasn’t a big deal’! You were a badass for taking out all those monsters!” He then glowers. “But man, that Kamoshida we saw there… You prolly don’t know about it, but there are some rumors about him.”

“Actually, Ann Takamaki told me some things about him.”

He looks curiously at the mention of her name. “You guys are in the same class, yeah? What did she tell you exactly?”

After explaining what she’s been told the boy scowls. “That’s about right. No one says anything against him ‘cause he’s some medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals.”

“This feels oddly familiar…”

“I know, right!? The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real ‘cause of that…” He stops to think for a moment. “...I wonder if we can go back to that castle again…”

“Y-you seriously want to go back there!?” After barely surviving with their lives intact, she felt going back would just be a death sentence. 

Seeing her reaction he sighs. “Ugh, forget it. Must’ve all been a dream… Sorry to drag you out here like this. That’s all I had to say.”

Shiho frowns, guilt gnawing at her. “Ryuji… I-” 

“Don’t apologize.” The boy quickly continues seeing her dejected look. “You know, we might be pretty similar.” Shiho tilts her head as he continues. “I feel we’re gonna get along just fine as “troublemakers.”

A giggle escapes her, forgetting her worries. It felt nice for her to have someone else understand her situation and while Takamaki was a different sort of comfort, it was like her and Ryuji shared a big, strange secret between them. 

He grins at her reaction. “I’ll come talk if I see you around. Don’t ignore me, all right?”

She nods, smiling herself. “Ryuji, thank you for well… being here and talking to me. Today's been a lot easier to go through with you here and I'm really grateful for your kindness.”

He pauses for a moment before grinning an abashed smile “No problem. I’ll seeya tomorrow.”

When he leaves, Shiho looks at the sky, her smile unwavering. The sun was setting and for a moment she forgot her criminal record, the impending doom when she’ll see Sojiro, and that bastard Kamoshida. Ryuji and Takamaki were like the beautiful sunset, a glimmer of hope and beauty in the darkness coming. She goes out the door thinking, maybe everyday won’t be so bad if they’re here.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiho having friendship moments with Ryuji and Ann gives me life. Took a while but I hope the update is good.


End file.
